Thursday 28th Feb @ Brighton Corn Exchange

London indie-electro forerunners HOT CHIP have been in the public spotlight for over four years now. Having released their third album in February (‘Made In The Dark‘ follows their Mercury-nominated ‘The Warning‘), tonight’s set list consists of their commercially successful back catalogue.

The band may not cut much of an impressive stage shape (vocalist Alexis Taylor wears his trademark goofy glasses with shirt and tie) and it’s a wonder that they’ve not embraced any VJ elements into their live performance, but nevertheless they’ve honed their musical talents over three albums.

Drum synth man Felix Martin (the tall, bespectacled one), guitarists Al Doyle (the ginger one) and Owen Clarke (the male model), and main singing and song-writing duo of Alexis (the little bespectacled one) and Joe Goddard (the hairy one) line up left to right and stick to their instruments on stage. Only once does Al indulge in some lead guitarist moves, braving the heights of a Corn Exchange speaker.

They kick off with the brilliantly upbeat ‘Shake A Fist’. Although an obvious observation, HOT CHIP’s live shows are always more energetic than a listen to their albums might suggest and despite their perfectionism the tracks seem to really come into their own live. Second album favourite ‘Boy From School’ is followed by the bizarre ‘Bendable Poseable’. Surprisingly, big breakthrough single ‘Over and Over’ came next, prompting me to question whether the boys are ironically getting sick of playing it over and over.

HOT CHIP’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics to ‘Wrestlers’ seem all the more amusing when sung by the ever-bouncy yet deeply-voiced Alexis. Whether you love them (like me – they’re my favourite band, ever) or not, you’ve got to admit they’ve cornered the market in self-deprecating humour. “Hot Chip will break your legs!” rang their voices on ‘The Warning’. The band squeezed in last month’s top ten hit ‘Ready for the Floor’ before a quick pre-encore slow dance (quick, grab a partner!) and ‘In The Privacy Of Our Love’. There were plenty of love songs aired this evening, which may be put down to Alexis’s recent marriage. Bless.

The encore saw sweaty renditions of ‘Hold On’ and ‘Made In The Dark’ but their exit from the stage was dampened somewhat as Al announced the band wouldn’t be DJing at the Bestival Reunion gig at Tru (now rescheduled for May). If they don’t know they’ll find out Al – leave us with the bow next time!

 

Words by Andrea Fox